Fool No More
by kurai-tsubasa
Summary: Postwar London. Everyone's all grown up, and everything's changed. And it's time for one last change......[oneshot]


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do i own Evanescense. I do, however, own 43 cents, should you choose to sue me.

Warnings: _Very_ AU Conceited!Harry, and a rather angsty post-apocalyptic London. think rubble, with greenish skies and everyone underground...

Fool No More

We had been friends up until that time- the best of friends. But after that, we grew apart, mostly because of me. I know we once had the chance of being together, me becoming Mrs. Harry Potter, but it was about then when I began to really see him. He was the Boy Who Lived, the famous Harry Potter, come to save us from the evil that was Voldemort. No one's afraid to say him name now; he was vanquished a long time ago. But I digress, well, maybe not so much. The time I've been mentioning was a turning point in wizarding history; Voldemort and his supporters were defeated, but only to be replaced by another ruling power. A power that was extremely dangerous, but the people didn't suspect a thing- after all; he was their savior, the hero, who could do no wrong. He was supposed to save us all, and bring to us a world free of darkness and evil, but instead he brought a time of chaos, even if the people didn't know it. On the surface of the new Ministry, it was perfect; people were happy and no one was out of a job everything was perfect, absolutely perfect.

_Perfect by Nature,_

_Icons of Self-Indulgence_

But underneath the prefect façade was a maze of corruptness, a maze known only to those who were at the very top: Harry Potter and myself. Yes, I was at the top of this chaotic society. I saw how tortured the people who were kept from everyone else. They all believe the conquered Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban; no, they suffered a much worse fate than that. They became the personal slaves of Harry Potter, attending to his every whim. He had become corrupted by the power of the position he held and spoiled by the worship he received.

_Just what we all need_

_More lies about a world_

_That never was and never will be_

I knew all of this was happening, but I never did anything about it. I let all of it go one. Not to say I never thought about asking Harry to stop never crossed my mind, but I never gathered the courage. Besides, he paid no attention to me anymore; at first he took my suggestion, listened to me, talked to me, but as he sunk deeper and deeper into the power he held, he stopped listening to everyone around him, and expected them all to follow whatever idea he thought up. It had gotten worse and worse; now, he would walk past me in the hallway and not look at me, wave, or even acknowledge that I was even there. It was as if I was invisible. And still everyone worshipped him, at least the hero he pretended he was. What's worse was that even in spite of all of this; I loved him, or thought I did.

_Have you no shame, don't you see me_

_You know you've got everybody fooled_

The situation steadily got worse. His frequent visits from Ginny Weasley didn't make it any better. Ginny felt she owed Harry some kind of special homage for saving Ron from Avada Kedavra, even though Ron ended up in St. Mungo's next to the Longbottoms. She came almost every week. I stopped worrying about it, although I shouldn't have.

_Look here she comes now_

_Bow down and stare in wonder_

I watched Harry when he had visitors or admirers. He would always put a mask on; a mask that let him become the hero they looked up to; the person capable of defeating Voldemort and restoring peace and good to the world. But it was a mask nonetheless. I didn't like the mask at all, but I had learned to deal with it.

_Oh how we love you_

_No flaws when you're pretending_

And yet, I still loved him. The first signs of our drifting apart were beginning to show, however. Be bickered constantly; it seemed as though the only time he would talk to me would be to argue with me. He would always try to make up with me afterwards, but he would fight me be later. Once, after once of our more vicious fights, I walked down the hallway towards his room to apologize, as this time, it had been my fault; I should have known better than to call him on his mistreatment of the former Death Eaters. I mean, it had been more than 10 years, and he was treating them worse and worse, beating them for the slightest thing. Anyways, I was going to apologize when I saw Ginny come out of his room, robe askew, hair mussed, and lips swollen. Although I told myself I didn't care what Harry did- it wasn't as if he was my husband, or even my boyfriend- it still hurt.

_But now I know she_

_Never was and never will be_

_You don't know how you've betrayed me_

_And somehow you've got everybody fooled_

Still, I felt I should apologize; telling myself what I had just seen had nothing to do with what I had originally come here to do. I knocked on his door and upon hearing the invitation to enter, when inside. I found him in his chair, supposedly nursing an injured pride, but I knew better. I apologized, saying I was out of line, and should not have brought up such a sensitive topic, which I knew was exactly what he wanted to hear. After my apology, he replied with,

"It's okay Hermione, I mean, how often do you get to contradict the famous Harry Potter?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

"I mean, it's not every day a worker like you gets to argue with a famous hero." Harry continued, much to my disbelief.

I couldn't stand much more, so I left. I couldn't believe how far he'd fallen into his own lie. Of course, he'd had help, but he was the main part.

_Without the mask, where will you hide?_

_Can't find yourself lost in your lie_

About two weeks later, Harry called me into his office. Curious to know what this was about, since he never called anyone into his office, I went up and hesitantly knocked and entered. When I entered, I found him sitting behind his desk, smiling broadly at me. He told me to sit down, and, not quite trusting his smile did so cautiously. Still smiling, he began to speak.

"Hermione, I am about to make you the luckiest and happiest girl alive. After much consideration, I have chosen you to be worthy of becoming my wife. I already know your answer, and have arranged the wedding and informed the press. Congratulations, you are now Mrs. Harry Potter."

I started at him in disbelief. Did he just ask me to marry him, and then put words in my mouth that had never been spoken? Yes, he did. I could now see past the mask and the lie and see the truth; a false, pretend hero that was never really there; a man who got everything he ever wanted, never thinking of what it cost other people; a boy who I thought I loved, but now realized that it was false as well.

_I know the truth now_

_I know who you are_

_And I don't love you anymore_

I realized that no matter how hard I tried to believe that this conceited Harry was just a mask, and that the real Harry, the Harry I had known at Hogwarts, was still there and in control, the old Harry was gone, never to return, not real anymore. I realized that instead of the people who worshipped him being the fools, Harry was the fool, his own fool, fallen to his lie, and I had to move on.

"I'm sorry Harry, I can't live like this anymore; I can't marry you because you're not real, and I don't love you, and never will."

With those last words, I walked out of his office, and out of his shadow. I had realized I was as much of a fool as he, but unlike him, I was able to break free and was a fool no more.

_It never was and never will be_

_You're not real and you can't save me_

_Somehow now you're everybody's fool_


End file.
